6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
I often "cold stratify" my seeds for several weeks before planting by putting them in the refrigerator. The thought behind this is that the seed senses the warmth once it comes out of the colder temperature, and decides it's spring. This doesn't work for all seeds, but you might want to try it with at least some of yours. If the seeds are mature, collect them, let them air dry for a few days inside, and then put them in a plastic bag in the refrigerator until things cool down.
Many sites, for example; Cold Stratify and Cold Stratification say to add a bit of moisture along with the seeds in the bag in the refrigerator.
I'd expect a mix up like that to be fairly rare, but you should know that it can happen even if you order your seeds on line or from a catalog.
Many (most?) of us far prefer to order by mail order from a seed company because the variety is so tremendous and the seeds fresher.
Whatever you decide to do next year, you can spare yourself several months of research by looking at and comparing pictures of seeds on line. For example, there's a huge difference between pumpkin and squash seeds. You'll see that when you buy the seeds next year.
You should also check out the Seed Exchange right here at GW! There are lots of friendly folk willing to trade seeds, and often offer seeds for SASE (Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope) to newbies like yourself.
Also, your local Farmer's Co-Op is a pretty reliable place to purchase veggie seeds.
Maple seeds do not need a cold period before sprouting. We have sugar maples, silver maples, and a few other in our yard and our neighbors yard. Every single year, not even a week after the seeds fall, they start sprouting and we have to pull them by the hundreds out of our gardens. Stick it in some dirt, water it, and forget about it. it WILL grow!And fast at that! We have 8 trees that we have let go and in 3 years time, most are 15 feet tall.
I am sure it is too late to help your particular problem, but for the future, I will comment. When you transplant seedlings the plant will often need to be tented to be able to maintain close to 100% humidity to prevent wilting for a week or two. It is best to also keep them out of direct sun for a few days. This of course will vary depending on the species. Al
Mutations in sunflowers are not uncommon. But sometimes, mutations can be caused by a virus-like disease called Asters Yellows. The occasional mutation can be interesting. But when all of the sunflowers you've planted become disfigured, you won't be happy about it.
Just keep an eye on all of the plants in your garden. If you notice a trend of mutations in many species, then it would be easy to conclude that Asters Yellows has been introduced. It affects many different kinds of plants and is passed from one to another by leaf hoppers.
However, if you only find the occasional anomoly.....enjoy!
The seeds don't just drop when ripe, they are dispersed by the opening pod - flung...sometimes quite a ways. You haven't found any sweeping your patio, black and sized of BBs?
You might try bagging (squares of nylon stocking and a twist tie) some of the flower heads. My own are not ripe yet but this is a cool Z8 and we haven't had much in the way of summer ripening weather here on the coast..
Here is a link that might be useful: 
I don't soak peas or beans just in case something comes between starting to soak them and getting them into the ground - bad weather, sudden other commitments etc. I can't guarantee to be able to get out to the garden at the right time. But I do water the bottom of the drill when I sow.
That's how Mama Nature does it.
I've done it that way by being lazy when deadheading. I'll just pinch off the spent flowers and drop them next to the plant or into a pile nearby. Some seeds will stay there all winter(did I say lazy?)and sprout the following season and some will sprout weeks after being tossed. Marigolds I found will do both.
That is a chronic problem with capillary matting - it gets and stays too wet. The only solution I have found, only way to adjust it, is to reduce the size of the pot holes so they don't absorb so much water from it. That is how those automatic watering set ups work - small holes. Or transplanting the plants into much bigger pots so they don't get so soaked.
In the past I tried wringing it out well, running it through the washer and dryer, cutting it into smaller strips so there was just a small strip right under the pots rather than a whole sheet of it (that helped some), and cutting the part that sits in the water down to a narrow strip so it can take up water more slowly (that helps a bit too).
Either way it isn't ideal and I have lost whole trays of seedlings to it in the past so finally pitched it.
Sorry I can't be of more help.
Dave
We have indeed reached out to a seed specialist at Cornell as well.
The seeds came to the Hamilton College Special Collections as part of a gift of Shaker ephemera. We are trying to find out a bit more about the provenance of the seeds. At this point all we know is that some years ago an original Shaker box of seeds was found in some rural shop...and individual packets were sold to collectors. The head of our Special Collections thinks he knows who has the box itself and he is making further inquires. The college is acquiring a larger group of seed packets in the near future, many of them unopened with the seeds. The packets in the photo were opened by a conservator to protect the integrity of the packets as well as the seeds. We will attempt to grow only a small portion of the seeds from the packets.
Will keep you updated as we learn more.
I should think that either Cornell or the Smithsonian should either know or else know where to refer you. The only reason for contacting someone at, let's say regjeringen.no perhaps, is in the case of Cornell and the Smithsonian saying we don't know.